Leaders of various Naga national groups in their messages on the eve of 61st anniversary of Naga Independence Declaration dwelt on the Naga political movement and current situation.

SS Khaplang NSCN (K) president SS Khaplang in his message said that unless unification of all the Naga people was achieved, efforts to expedite a permanent and acceptable lasting solution to the Indo-Naga-Myanmar political imbroglio would prove futile. Stating that antagonist forces had gone to the extent of disseminating dissentions, divisionism, regionalisms and tribal inclinations to douse the spirit of Naga nationalism, Khaplang said the appeals and tireless efforts of civil societies, tribal bodies and Church to shun violence and to expedite a united and honourable solution to the protracted Naga issue, had encountered failures due to “callous egoistic principles of certain Naga leaders and un-compromising gestures that have led to senseless fratricides in-within.” He also alleged that the unification process and signing of a cease-fire between warring parties (NSCNs & NNC) under the aegis of Nagaland GBs and DBs joint Forum, collapsed due to retraction of peace and unification by NSCN (I-M) general secretary Th Muivah.

Adino Phizo Recounting the genesis of the Naga movement, Naga National Council (Adino) president Adinno Phizo said the people of Nagaland responded in unison to NNC leader late AZ Phizo’s vision for a Naga nation –“to be a Man among men and to be a Nation among nations”- and endorsed a common independent Naga destiny on May 16, 1951.Adino said in the past fifty four years of conflict between India and Naga people, India resorted to trampling the freedom of Naga people with impunity. “In addition to enduring insufferable foreign imposed tyranny, mindless sectarian violence gripped Naga society in the past three decades. It is manifestly evil to justify political killing as patriotic. Evidently, Delhi has secured the services of the anti-Nagaland sectarian gang(s), drawn mainly from outside Nagaland, to destabilise Naga society,” she added.

Dr. Senka YadenGreeting the people on the 61st anniversary of Naga Independence Declaration, Naga National Council (NNC) president Dr. Senka Yaden said Independence Day was a day to “examine and contemplate who we are, how we got here, and what we have.” “It gives us the opportunity to remind us our heritage as we honor the legacy of freedom and sacrifices of our ancestors. It is well for us to recall, remember, and recollect the elements of our characteristics which have made us unique and different at this moment of our history,” Yaden said.